If It All Went Wrong

I had already written this chapter and it was actually good. And then, of course, my computer glitched out and deleted the entire chapter. So, I rewrote it, and this version is absolute trash. I'm sorry. :(

I unlatch the bag from around my body and unzip the pocket. Reaching inside, I find a coil of rope, a flat container with a few drops of water and a large hunk of bread. Well, at least I can survive for a couple of days.

Sighing, I slosh the few drops of water around, watching it cascade up the thin walls. Really, the couldn't pack a slightly bigger container?

My next step is to repack my bag and glance around at my surroundings. The smart choice would be to lash myself to a tree and sleep until morning. But the fear of heights kicks in and my brain quickly rejects that idea.

I instead decide to stay awake the entire night and make sure I don't get killed.

Whipping my head from side to side accomplishes this, even though it gives me a massive headache.

Nobody sneaks up behind me which kind of defeats the entire purpose.

When I'm sure that nobody is there, I crouch at the base of one of the trees and pull the piece of paper from my pocket.

The paper is actually the corner of a used napkin and the words were so hastily scribbled that the writing was barely legible in the first place. Now, someone with a magnifying glass couldn't read the words. Luckily, I know what the short message reads.

I'm coming back.

And up until the very end, I believed that. In that brief ten-minute period, all of my doubts were washed away. Now he's not coming back. He's never coming back.

"Well, well, well," comes a drawling voice out of the shadows.

I instantly leap to my feet, quickly spinning around.

Five of the Careers stand there, along with the District 6 tributes. The boy from District 1 leads them with a smirk outlining his face.

"Hello, Miss ten in training," he says, folding his arms across his chest. "You know, we could use a girl like you. Even with your family history."

My hands ball into fists. "In your dreams. And shut up about my family before I split your empty skull." My fingers brush the hilt of my sword, threatening to pull it out.

The District 2 girl laughs. It's a horrible, shrill sound and I resist the urge to cover my ears. "Like you, a measly girl from District 10 could ever defeat Jason. Back off."

I yank out the sword, aiming it across the pack. "Why don't you back off?" I say, returning the smirk.

Jason shrugs and with one swift move pulls the sword out of my hands and stabs me right through the shoulder.

I collapse in agony, not giving them the satisfaction of screaming.

Jason rises the weapon above my head, ready to slash it clean off. I'm powerless. In those last seconds, my gaze sweeps over the Careers, hunting for any sign of remorse. The only that I find is from the eyes of the boy from the sixth District. His dark hair brushed across his forehead, almost hiding his stricken hazel eyes. Our eyes lock for just a second before I look away, accepting my fate.

"Wait!" the girl from District 6 hurries forward, holding up her hands. Her voice shakes as she says, "We need her, right? So, we can't kill her yet! We need to give her medical attention and then see if she joins us!"

Jason stares at her for a second before turning to look at me. "We won't give you medical attention. If you're not an idiot and you survive, you have the choice to join us."

He drops my blood-spattered sword in front of me and motions to his group. They leave me curled in the fetal position, wondering why the girl saved me.

Mm, you have no idea the plans I have for this story!